


Pretty Nice Ring

by Bearixt



Series: A[(5+1)/2]! [2]
Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Fluff and Humor, Found Family, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-06-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:34:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24839254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bearixt/pseuds/Bearixt
Summary: Tenma’s eyes snap open. “What? This is bad. The media will twist this again.”“Can you stop thinking that you’re so important?” Yuki says, but to everyone’s surprise, Tenma doesn’t rise to the bait. He doesn’t even seem to have heard it. Instead, he scrambles to grab his phone from his pocket.He’s reading something on his phone, and then, he clicks his tongue. “There it is.”Izumi sits beside him and scoots closer to check what is on his screen, but Tenma closes the tab fast enough only for her to see the headline—“‘Blue Sapphire’ Star Tenma Sumeragi saves fans from delinquent?!”-Five times the Mankai peeps forget that Tenma is anactualsuperstar, and one time they don’t.
Relationships: Hyoudou Juuza & Sumeragi Tenma, MANKAI Company & Sumeragi Tenma
Series: A[(5+1)/2]! [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1695841
Comments: 18
Kudos: 107





	Pretty Nice Ring

**Author's Note:**

> Happy birthday to (I don’t know how it happened but suddenly he is) my natsu oshi, Tenma! And oh, look, I posted on time. 🙈 Thank to Nikki for the beta!
> 
> Set in Act 1. 🌻

**One.**

Tsumugi enters the lounge and tilts his head at the scene that greets him. “Tenma-kun? Taichi-kun and Juza-kun, too. Why are you still here? Shouldn’t you be in school?”

The students are seated on the couch, and Tenma, scrolling on his phone, raises a hand in greeting. Juza moves his head to Tsumugi’s direction and nods, but he doesn’t take his eyes off the TV screen.

It is Taichi who answers him with a “Good morning, Tsumugi-san! There’s a board meeting, so all morning classes are canceled! How ‘bout you, Tsumugi-san? You don’t have work today?”

“I do, but it’s not until later in the afternoon.” Tsumugi walks to the kitchen and grabs a jar of coffee beans. He makes sure to properly grind them first—medium-fine grind for this morning—before he brews a pot. Then, he grabs two mugs and fills them with coffee, just in time to see Tasuku enter the lounge as well.

Tsumugi places the mugs on the table and sits down. Tasuku nods at him and takes his seat as well.

“Why are they still here?” Tasuku asks, grabbing a mug.

“Their morning classes are canceled, apparently.”

Tasuku takes a sip before he turns sideways, placing an arm over the chair’s top rail. “Hey. You three want to join me for a run? If you don’t have anything to do for at least five more hours anyway.”

“Got it,” Juza says, attention still on the TV— oh, it’s a baking competition show.

“Sure!” Taichi says with a grin. “I gotta keep up with you guys!”

“Hmm? Are you all going somewhere?” Homare asks right after he steps foot in the lounge. “Good morning, everyone!”

“We’re going to take a run.”

“Oh! Can I come with?”

Tsumugi chuckles at Tasuku’s unspoken reply as his face contorted with disbelief.

“I’m not going to run with you,” Homare says, cupping his chin with a hand. “I merely meant that we can all go out together. I am planning to take a walk today for inspiration, you see.”

Tsumugi hums around the mug he’s holding with both hands. “Morning walks are nice. Do you remember the beach we saw when we were buying furniture for Hisoka-kun? I think it’s a good place.” Almost as an afterthought, he adds, “Why don’t you bring Hisoka-kun with you? It might jog his memory.”

“Taking a walk, huh?” Taichi stands up and starts stretching, twisting his body left to right. “That’s fun, too! I can’t remember the last time I’ve taken a walk just because!”

Noticing that the baking competition show ended, Tsumugi takes the opportunity. “How about you, Juza-kun? Do you take walks, too?”

Juza lifts his shoulders. “Sure.”

“And Tenma-kun?”

“Do shootings count?” Tenma says, looking up from his phone. “I had several scenes where I walked in a park or something in a drama I starred in.”

“That’s so cool, Ten-chan!”

“Heh. Guess so.”

Even Tasuku is impressed, brows raised as he continues to drink from his mug. Something nags at the back of Tsumugi’s mind though…

Tsumugi takes his mug and moves to the couch, sitting on the one opposite of Tenma, and asks, “How about walks outside of shootings?”

Tenma shrugs. “Nah. Can’t really go anywhere without people noticing me, you know?”

“Amazing!” Taichi beams while doing a quad stretch. “You’re really on another level!”

It’s supposed to be a compliment, Tsumugi knows, but somehow, it feels off. Tenma just smirks though, so perhaps he is just overthinking it?

“Are you still being mobbed at Veludo Way?” Juza asks, turning to Tenma beside him. “I told you to tell me.”

“When do I not get mobbed?” Tenma mumbles, averting his gaze.

Tsumugi frowns. “Tenma-kun, do you hang out with others after school?”

Tsumugi pointedly ignores Tasuku’s snort that is followed by something that sounded like ‘speak for yourself’ and listens as Tenma answers, “Yeah. I go to karaoke with Banri-san. Shopping with the director. Stuff.”

“How about before Mankai?”

Tenma shrugs. “Nah. Too busy.”

“School events?”

“Busy.”

“Eh?!” Taichi’s amazed expression turns incredulous. “How about playing in parks? You visited parks when you were young, right? Played with other kids, maybe even meet your first love?”

Tsumugi can clearly hear Tenma’s thoughts based on the raised eyebrow alone, but the Summer Troupe leader just shrugs again. “Both my parents are actors, remember? Been in the spotlight ever since I was born. I can’t really go out like that.”

Taichi opens his mouth, but before he can get a word out, Tenma is already continuing, “Doesn’t matter. I started learning how to act right after I learned how to walk. Playing is just a waste of time.”

Homare hums and nods to himself, making Tsumugi pause. He forgot he’s still in the room, with how he’s been quiet for a while. “Perhaps that would explain why Tenma-kun is bad at people.”

Tsumugi watches a vein appear on Tenma’s forehead before he looks back to Tasuku. They exchange looks, and Tasuku slightly tips his head forward. He finishes his coffee and puts the mug in the sink before coming back to the lounge.

“We can head out now so we can get back before this morning’s second batch of breakfast,” Tasuku says, a hand on his hip.

“Gotcha!” Taichi says, picking himself up from the floor. Juza also nods and quietly stands up while Homare asks to wait for him so that he can get Hisoka.

Tenma doesn’t move and goes back to fiddling with his phone.

“Do you want to join too, Tenma-kun?” Tsumugi isn’t actually planning to run with them, but he would if Tenma is.

“Nah,” Tenma says, shaking his head. “Not like I can just casually run around anyway.”

Tsumugi has taken his walks before. A lot of times, in fact, especially during his stressful days in college, to help him clear his mind. To not even have that simple thing…

He nods. “Can I accompany you here, then?”

Tenma splutters. “Stop being so weird, Tsumugi-san,” he mumbles, cheeks slightly flushed. “You can do what you want.”

Tsumugi laughs just as Homare returns back to the lounge, expression exasperated and no Hisoka in sight.

When Tasuku and the others leave, Tsumugi turns to Tenma. It is easy to forget that Tenma is not only his fellow leader sometimes, but… “Tenma-kun, you like bonsai, right? Did you have any projects related to them?”

“Oh, yeah. I really wanna be on the cover of Bonsai Lovers, but…”

The passion in Tenma’s eyes makes Tsumugi smile, and he patiently listens.

.

.

.

**Two.**

Tsuzuru’s eyes snap open and he sits up, his reflection on the black mirror of his laptop staring back at him. He doesn’t remember taking a nap, but he must’ve fallen asleep in the middle of his essay. But what woke him up…?

He looks around his room, trying to find the source of his unease and— _there._

It’s Masumi, who’s clutching his phone, glaring at it and muttering nonstop. Tsuzuru’s pretty used to Masumi’s moods, but the energy he’s radiating now feels a little more aggressive.

“Masumi?” he calls out. He repeats it twice more and waits for Masumi to acknowledge him before he asks, “What’s wrong?”

“I’ll kill him,” Masumi bites out.

“Wait, wait, what?”

Masumi abruptly stands up, the hand holding his phone shaking, and simply repeats, “I’ll kill him” before walking out the door.

Tsuzuru scrambles to follow him, because while he knows Masumi’s just exaggerating, there’s also the thought that what if _he’s not?????_

He tries to calm him down, but Masumi continues to walk with purposeful steps, crossing the courtyard in quick strides, and then they’re in the kitchen. Omi and Citron are by the counter, looking at them with wide eyes.

He can’t blame them, since the door was forcefully opened, and he’s pretty sure even those in their rooms heard the resounding _bang!_ when the door hit the wall. Tsuzuru winces when he sees the chipped painting. Oh no, how to explain this to Sakyo-san…

Omi recovers and clears his throat. “Are you two hungry? We are just about to finish preparing Shaabiyat.”

Tsuzuru realizes he _is_ hungry, and Masumi might calm down with food, so he nods. “That’d be great, Fushimi-san.”

“Where’s Tenma?” Masumi asks.

“Eh? So it’s Tenma?” Tsuzuru turns to him. Well, there goes his hopes of calming him down, but, “Why Tenma?”

“Tenma?” Omi tilts his head as he garnishes the puffs with… crushed pistachios? “He hasn’t come home yet.”

“Why are you looking for Tenma, Masumi?” Citron asks.

“I need to kill him.”

“Okay, okay,” Tsuzuru says, scratching the back of his head. “Why don’t we all calm down? Masumi, sit down. Let’s eat first. Tenma won’t arrive until later, right?”

Masumi glares at him, but he follows nonetheless, aggressively huffing while doing so. Tsuzuru sits next to him, while Omi sits on the other side after placing two plates on the table. Citron takes the seat in front of Masumi.

They grab puffs from the plate, praise Omi and Citron for the food, and quietly eat.

“Why do you look like you want to jump down Tenma’s boat?” Citron asks after a while.

“Throat,” Tsuzuru says in a heartbeat. “Tenma’s throat.”

Omi laughs. “I won’t be surprised if Tenma has a boat though.”

Normally, Tsuzuru would’ve joined in, but he’s more concerned about the growl he hears from his side. He lightly shakes his head at Omi before looking at Masumi. There’s no point in delaying it now. “What happened?”

“Izumi went to the market with Tenma yesterday, right?”

 _Of course,_ it would involve the director. But still, his reaction is a little too much, especially since going out for groceries with Izumi is normal. Besides, “Weren’t they also—”

“Speaking of, isn’t that Tenma?” Omi says, pointing to the television.

Masumi stands up abruptly to go near the television, and Tsuzuru’s curiosity makes him follow. Omi and Citron stand up as well—the plates are empty now anyway—and they all stand around the television.

There are couches for a reason. Why are they not sitting down?

Tsuzuru inwardly sighs and pays attention to the television instead. It’s the news, and the anchor is mentioning something about an exclusive showbiz update, but Tsuzuru zones in on the big headline on the lower part of the screen.

_“Blue Sapphire” Star Tenma Sumeragi, on a Mystery Date?_

The anchor starts reporting how they got the scoop from a citizen, mentioning that Tenma can be seen grocery shopping with an older woman, and the screen shows multiple blurry pictures. _Extremely blurry_ and _grainy_ pictures _._ The orange hair is definitely Tenma, but, err…

“See?” Masumi says, the single word dripping with venom. He clenches his fist and looks down. “I saw the articles.”

“Uh… I think there’s some misunderstanding here,” Omi says, patiently.

“What misunderstanding?” Masumi scowls at him.

“Ah!” Citron beams, pointing at the screen. “I’m on television.” He pauses. “Oh, wait. Oh no, I’m on television!”

“Don’t worry, Citron-san, you’re unrecognizable.” Tsuzuru tries to hold his laugher in, but a snort still escapes him. “I mean, if even Masumi can’t…”

Omi chuckles and mentions the obvious height difference, and Tsuzuru ends up laughing out loud.

At Masumi’s frown that Tsuzuru translates as confusion, Tsuzuru stops laughing but still continues to smile. He would’ve reached a hand out to mess his hair like he would do to his brothers if he didn’t know how much the other would hate it.

Instead, Tsuzuru says, “Take a look at the TV again.”

Masumi does, and Tsuzuru doesn’t know it’s possible for him to frown harder, but he does. “That’s… not Izumi.”

“Yeah,” Tsuzuru says. “As I was saying, Citron-san went with them yesterday.”

“It’s fun to shop with Tenma! The old lady in the fruit stand gave us many fruits!” Citron nods enthusiastically. “But to think that just buying groceries with him can immediately expire you on TV… must be careful.”

“Expose,” Tsuzuru says.

Masumi clicks his tongue and says something under his breath before he exits the lounge. Maybe he’s going back to their room? Tsuzuru needs to continue his essay, too, but he can do it after he help with the dishes.

Except Omi shooed him away, telling him to work on his paper first, so Tsuzuru’s on his way back as well.

As he crosses the courtyard, he thinks about Citron’s comment. The media should know Tenma’s living in the dorms, considering that all the actors of Mankai live here. Should Tsuzuru be surprised that he doesn’t see paparazzi outside? Is it normal for the media to not follow him home but do so when he’s out for groceries?

What is Tenma’s “normal” anyway? 

.

.

.

**Three.**

Itaru, Sakuya, and Taichi stay in the lounge after dinner, occupying one of the couches. Muku stays in the lounge as well and sits on the other couch. He’s curious about the game that Itaru is teaching Sakuya, especially since Taichi’s watching Itaru’s phone in anticipation like it’s the coolest thing in the world.

Tenma is surprisingly in the lounge, too. He heads straight to bed recently, which Muku totally understands because he’s juggling Summer Troupe practice and the filming for his new movie.

Muku really, really admires Tenma, and they’re friends now? _But still…_ Muku squirms in his seat. Should he speak first? Why did Tenma sit beside him anyway? Though he’s just watching TV and— oh, his seat is nearest the TV. That explains it? Muku needs to thank him for all the advice he gave him earlier, too…

“Ohhh, so it’s not about dating?” Taichi exclaims, making Muku turn his attention to them.

“Yep,” Itaru says, giving his phone to Sakuya. “Works just like your usual otoge, but no romance option. Just friendship.”

“Wow,” Muku says. “There really are all kinds of games.”

“This is really interesting, Itaru-san, but…” Sakuya trails off, laughing sheepishly. “I’m just at the first chapter and I’m already stuck. I don’t think I can choose the best options here.”

At Itaru’s questioning hum, Sakuya explains, “It seems that this guy and I—or, umm, the main character—have been close for a long time? And, well, the longest friends I have now are you guys, so…”

“Please stop being a precious bean,” Itaru says. Then, he sighs. “I get what you mean, I guess. But… it’s a game, so just choose what you think the devs want.”

“But it won’t be genuine?”

Tenma snorts, startling Muku. “It’s just a game.”

“Tenma’s condescending tone is annoying.”

“Condes— you literally just said the same thing!”

“Sakkun, can I borrow? Lemme try!”

“That’s _my_ phone.”

Sakuya passes the phone to Taichi, who breezes through the first chapter based on their reactions. Muku, unable to reign his curiosity in anymore, stands up and sits next to Taichi, who scoots closer to Sakuya and lets him watch what he’s doing on the phone.

“Finished the classmates route just like that!” Taichi grins. “Now it’s… a friend that you haven’t seen in a long while, huh? Catching up— oh, which one should I choose?”

_I haven’t seen you in years, **Sakuya**! What’s up? _

_ > Sorry, who are you? _

_ > Himuro! I’m so glad to see you. Are you free right now? _

_ > To think that we will meet again… Himuro, I’m happy to see you. _

“Obviously, it’s not the first one,” Taichi says. “I think option 2 is nice, but… hmmmmm.”

“I-I think it’s option 3!” Muku says. “Because it shows the main character’s melancholic thoughts and implies that there’s a backstory and I just think that saying ‘happy’ is more intimate than ‘glad’ but— maybe? I-I’m not really sure…”

Oh no, he rambled again. “Um, what does Itaru-san think?”

Itaru raises his eyebrows. “Me? Hmm. I think the best option’s the second one. MC’s giving an invitation here to hang out. That means more opportunity to talk and ‘catch up,’ which is, you know, the goal.”

“But the third dialogue feels more genuine.”

Muku beams at Sakuya, glad that they are on the same page. Sakuya smiles back at him.

Taichi pouts. “I still think option 2 is the better option.”

“Then let’s ask someone else. Oi, Tenma,”  Itaru calls out.

“What?”

“Come here and give us your opinion.”

“About what?” Tenma asks, rubbing the back of his head as he walks over to them.

Muku’s about to stand up so that Tenma can sit on the couch, but Tenma places his hand on his shoulder with a little pressure, keeping him seated. He goes around so that he’s behind them, leaning on the couch instead.

Taichi brings up the phone to show it to him. “We’re deciding which option is the best. What do you think, Ten-chan?”

Tenma frowns as he reads the screen. “Huh? How the hell would I know?”

“What would you say if you’re in that situation?” Sakuya asks.

“Dunno. Never experienced that before.”

Muku looks up at him, surprised. “You don’t catch up with friends?”

“Uh, no?” Tenma says. “I’m too busy. Not that I have lots of people to catch up with anyway, aside from a few connections. I don’t wanna give my number or email easily.”

Oh. Oh, right. Tenma’s been a celebrity for more than fifteen years now, as he has kept on reminding them. You’d really not want to give numbers to “strangers,” even if all friendships start from there, or maybe except if it’s for “connections.” But isn’t that a bit… sad?

“So no friends to catch up with in the first place,” Itaru says. “That’s one less problem to worry about, at least. Anyway, Taichi, just choose the second one. We can load a save file later if it’s not the right answer.”

“Gotcha!”

In the end, option 2 leads to the “good end” while option 3 leads to the “normal end.” Muku should’ve known not to question Itaru’s expertise by now.

Still, he had fun reading and playing with them, talking about the options every now and then, even though Tenma didn’t contribute anything to the discussion aside from the occasional _is that how it is?_ and _that’s like a line in a drama I was in._

.

.

.

**Four.**

Someone groans, and Izumi stops pacing to look at the couch. Tenma sits up and massages his temple, still with his eyes closed. “What happened?” he mumbles.

“Looks like some really wild fans followed you!” Kazunari says, seated on the other couch with Yuki and Banri. “You bumped your head on a lamp post while you were running away and lost consciousness and Setzer arrived to the rescue! Rad! Just like a movie scene!”

Tenma’s eyes snap open. “What? This is bad. The media will twist this again.”

“Can you stop thinking that you’re so important?” Yuki says, but to everyone’s surprise, Tenma doesn’t rise to the bait. He doesn’t even seem to have heard it. Instead, he scrambles to grab his phone from his pocket.

He’s reading something on his phone, and then, he clicks his tongue. “There it is.”

Izumi sits beside him and scoots closer to check what is on his screen, but Tenma closes the tab fast enough only for her to see the headline—“‘Blue Sapphire’ Star Tenma Sumeragi saves fans from delinquent?!”

“Wait, what? Why am I the bad guy?”

Tenma ignores them and stands up, walking to the corner of the lounge and bringing his phone to his ear.

“You’re right…” Kazunari says, eyes wide as he scrolls on his phone. “Tons of versions! Some articles are saying Setzer is actually Tenten’s bodyguard though, pfft. But, oh! That’s an idea.”

“Hey, Igawa?” Everyone stops and turns to Tenma. “Yeah, I’ve seen it. Huh? Of course not! I don’t— yeah, yeah, I know. Call that journalist. That one who did Spo— no, not that one. Ugh. What was her name again?”

Tenma continues to pace, and it’s not even a secret that the four of them are listening in.

“Yeah! Suzuki-san! Tell her I’m gonna give her an exclusive phone interview. Wait, seriously? That woman’s really good, isn’t she? Fine. Direct the call to me.”

Tenma stops moving and leans on the wall, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. When he exhales, his eyes are clear, the lines between his brows are gone, and the look on his face is the same look Izumi sees whenever they’re about to head out the stage.

It’s the look that says, _it’s showtime._

“Yo, Suzuki-san! You’re too fast, aren’t you?” Tenma stays silent, listening to what the other person on the line is saying, and then, he laughs. “And I know you’re one of the very few that I can actually count on to write a decent story. You should be honored. Huh? Mhmm. No, of course not. So, you see, what actually happened is…”

It’s nothing Izumi doesn’t know; Banri gave them the rundown the moment he arrived with the unconscious Tenma slung over his shoulders. And yet, Tenma’s explanation is so detailed that even though she wasn’t there, she can imagine what’s happening.

“Got that? Yeah… Mhmm… Haha, no. Well, if anything, I feel more like Akira. Yep, my next role. But that’s all you’re hearing from me. I don’t know, is it? Haha. ‘Kay. Thanks. Just tell Igawa if you need something else. No, don’t mention him anywhere. Mhmm. Bye.”

Ending the call, Tenma walks toward them. Izumi sits up straight and pretends that she wasn’t gawking at him just a moment ago. “That should clear things up, but don’t talk to anyone.” He purses his lips. “If you start getting calls from unknown numbers, ignore them. Don’t answer the press.”

“How will they even get our numbers?” Izumi asks.

“I don’t know. You don’t want to know,” Tenma says. He rakes his fingers through his hair and sighs, jamming his phone back into his pocket. “Sorry for the trouble, Banri-san.”

Banri, who has both arms over the backrest, just shrugs. “‘s not a big deal.”

“It is,” Tenma says, clearly exhausted. It’s a different kind of exhaustion though, not the kind of tiredness that comes from rehearsals. “They’ll keep spinning everything and you’ll be affected until the real story starts circulating.”

“And? What’s new?”

Tenma stares at Banri, and Izumi gets the impression that he’s thinking of something personal, but she has no idea what it can be. A few seconds later, he shrugs. “Still, sorry. Didn’t want my biz stuff to overlap with theatre stuff.”

“Don’t worry about it, Tenma-kun!” Izumi chimes in, worried at the frown making its way back on his face again. “The important thing here is that you’re fine.”

“Yeah. Like my manager said, bad publicity is still publicity.”

“That’s not what I—”

“Anyway, I’m tired. I’ll be in my room. Later.”

Tenma leaves the room, and as if he took the sun with him, the temperature in the lounge drops.

“Did the hack hit his head harder than we thought?” Yuki is the one to break the silence, brows furrowed as he stares at the door to the courtyard.

“Yeah, that’s kinda surprising,” Kazunari says. “I mean, I know Tenten’s famous and all, but I totes forgot it’s like _that._ ”

Banri hums. “I get what you mean.”

“To be on lotsa news sites just like that! So wild!”

“The Foreign Swindler was also in the news a while back.”

“Oh yeah,” Izumi says with a cringe. “That.”

“Right. That.” Banri throws his head back, laughing. “Tenma’s Mystery Date.”

“I guess the person who sent that scoop saw me, but when they took pictures, it’s right when I crouched down to check the fruits on that stand…”

“Lucky!” Kazunari says, throwing a peace sign at her, before turning his attention to his phone. “It’d be sooo crazy if you’re in the news. I mean, look at all these stories about Setzer already. Yikes.”

“Don’t give a damn.”

Maybe it’s a good thing that Banri was there, not only for Tenma’s sake but also because Banri can handle it. If the person who tried to involve Izumi had been successful, Izumi is sure she could handle it, too.

Still, she can’t believe she even has to _think_ about handling things like this. If you’re a girl around Tenma’s age, simply being seen with him can be a big deal. Maybe even…

“Why are you staring at me? Quit it.”

Izumi blinks and averts her gaze, laughing sheepishly as she scratches her cheek. “Sorry, Yuki-kun. I was just thinking of something.”

“Don’t hurt your head trying,” Yuki says, standing up. “The hack’s enough. I’m going to my room.”

“Thanks, Yuki-kun!” Izumi says.

“Haah? Why are you thanking me?” Yuki gives her a leveled look. “I’m not going to check on him. I have a costume to finish.”

When Yuki exits the lounge, Banri snorts. “Nobody mentioned anythin’ about checkin’ on him.”

Izumi shushes him, and with a grin, she turns to Kazunari. “Kazunari-kun, about that idea…”

.

.

.

**Five.**

Azuma steps outside the room and closes the door before walking down the hallway. He turns around a corner, stopping when he bumps into another person.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Azuma says.

The man shrugs and raises a hand. “Don’t worry. ‘S my fault.”

Azuma can’t see his face because he’s wearing a cap and he keeps his head hung low, but that voice is unmistakably—“Tenma?”

“Azuma-san?” He looks up, confirming Azuma’s thoughts. “What are you doing here?”

Why does he look so tired, and why is he whispering? Azuma opens his mouth to reply, but Tenma hurriedly says, “Wait, no, never mind. I don’t think I want to know.”

“I’m a little more curious about why Tenma is here.” Azuma smiles. “Though there is completely nothing wrong with being in a hotel.”

“Sorry, but can we not stay in the hallway? Let’s go to my room.”

Azuma raises a brow, and Tenma waves his hand in front of him frantically. “Not like that!”

“Not like what?” Azuma tilts his head. Tenma is so easy to tease. How cute.

“Ugh, never mind! Come on, let’s go.” Tenma rushes to the end of the hallway, looking around him after every step. Azuma follows him, wondering if Tenma realizes that he looks suspicious, but keeps quiet. He watches Tenma swipe his card to the last room and opens it for Azuma, waiting for him to enter first before he follows suit and closes the door behind him.

Tenma removes his cap and sunglasses, releasing a heavy sigh as he places his palm on his sweaty forehead before raking his fingers through his hair.

Azuma gestures at him to take a seat on the couch before going to the kitchen, preparing a glass of water. He returns to the couch and offers it to Tenma.

“Thanks,” Tenma says, grabbing the cup and taking big gulps.

“So,” Azuma starts, waiting for Tenma to finish drinking before he continues, “What brings you here?”

“My manager couldn’t pick me up today so I had to walk, but I… uh, took a detour.”

 _He got lost,_ Azuma translates.

“And, well, I arrived somewhere here, but somebody noticed me, and—” Tenma groans and rubs the back of his head. “I don’t mind three or four people asking for my signature, but if it’s an entire neighborhood?” He shudders. “I needed to escape.”

“And you went to this hotel.”

“Yeah. Good thing I saw this one nearby. Hotels are kinda high up in my list of safe spaces since they can’t let them all in here…”

“I am hearing a ‘but’ in there.” Does he have a list?

Tenma sighs. “But now they’re all camping outside.”

“So you plan to stay here for the night?”

“Huh? No.” Tenma places the empty cup on the table. “That won’t work with the more… passionate fans. I need to know the layout of this hotel.”

He mumbles the last part, perhaps not intending for Azuma to hear it, but he catches it anyway. “Why do you need the layout?”

Tenma stares at him for a while before shrugging, leaning back on the couch. “I normally just wait for Igawa to pick me up, but he’s out of town. If I just know all the possible exits…”

“I would like to help you out,” Azuma says, because Tenma most likely needs it if it’s anything related to directions, but considering what happened to His Highness and Banri…

Azuma has never had this problem before. It’s not like he always leaves with his patrons—it’s either them or him leaving first—but it _has_ happened, and he’s never had to stop and worry about what other people would think.

He still doesn’t really care about rumors related to _himself,_ but it’s not just him. Tenma is a _celebrity._ He has several eyes on him—and not always in a good way.

Tenma tells him that he can handle it, but Azuma can almost physically feel the frustration radiating from him. He wishes he can be of help more, but if not him, then… “I’m supposed to meet with Sakyo-kun later, so he might be around. Maybe he can do something about this.”

“Geh.”

Azuma chuckles and excuses himself, going to the windows and dialing Sakyo’s number. He parts the gold curtain slightly to take a peak, but he doesn’t see anything since it’s already dark outside.

Sakyo finally answers the phone, grunting at him in lieu of a hello. Azuma says _“hello to you, too, Sakyo-kun”_ and lets him know that the delayed answer is okay, knowing that Sakyo is probably doing… other things.

He informs him about the situation, and after a few more minutes, they have a plan in place.

“I’ll let Tenma know. See you later, Sakyo-kun.”

“Tell Sumeragi to stay safe. Bye.”

Azuma walks back to the couch. Tenma, who’s on his phone, looks up and says, “Well? What did Sakyo-san say?”

“‘Stay safe.’”

Tenma splutters and Azuma chuckles at the blush dusting his cheeks. “That’s not exactly helpful!”

Azuma takes a seat, smiling at the loosened tension on Tenma’s shoulders. “It seems that Hisoka’s part-time job is actually around the area.” He puts his hair in front of his shoulders and continues, “Sakyo-kun says that he’ll let Hisoka know.”

“Why do I feel like I’m being passed around?”

“For the meantime, do you want me to dial room service? Are you hungry?”

“No, I’m full. It’s fine. Thanks though.”

_Tok. Tok. Tok._

Azuma pauses. “Did you hear that?”

“W-What? I didn’t hear anything. What are you saying?”

It must’ve been Azuma’s imagination then. “Oh, nothing, I just—”

_Tok. Tok. Tok. Toktoktoktoktoktoktoktok._

That’s… hard to miss. Azuma turns around to the direction of the sound, trying to see anything amiss but not finding any. He turns back to Tenma… who is not on the couch. He’s behind it, only his eyes and above visible over the backrest. “I-It’s definitely coming from there. L-Look! The curtains!”

Azuma turns around and, _ah,_ there is something behind the curtains. He frowns and walks toward it.

“Wait, Azuma-san! Be careful!”

Azuma grabs the curtain, pulls it away in one swift motion, and—

“Hisoka? Misumi?”

Hisoka sighs and gestures at the lock of the window while Misumi grins at him. Azuma blinks, somehow not registering what he is seeing, but he opens the window nonetheless.

They both land on the floor with grace, and Hisoka walks toward Tenma, Misumi following suit with a spring in his steps.

Azuma also follows them and sits on the couch. The image of the two hanging outside the room is a little jarring, if he would be honest about it. Still, he opts to just comment, “That was fast.”

Hisoka nods at him before looking at Tenma. “You need to get out, right? I saw an unused fire exit. We can use that.”

Tenma stands up and points his index finger at them. “What the hell? How are you here?!”

“Azuma let us in!” Misumi says, tilting his head and placing a finger on his lips. “Did Tenma not see us? But oh, you were behind that couch.”

“That’s not what I meant! How did you get here?!”

Hisoka furrows his brows. “You just repeated your question using other words. Again, through the windows.”

“This is the 4th floor!”

“… and?”

Azuma knows not to question certain things, but he still can sympathize with Tenma’s ‘I’m giving up because this is going nowhere’ groan.

“I’ll leave Tenma to you two, then.” Azuma turns to Tenma. “You can leave your card to me. I’ll return it to the front desk.”

Tenma nods, sighing in defeat, and gives him his card. “Thank you, Azuma-san.”

Azuma smiles at him, and Tenma turns to the two, crossing his arms. “Well? What are we gonna— hey, hey, what the hell—”

Azuma watches Misumi pick Tenma up and throw him over his shoulders, turning around to enthusiastically wave at Azuma, before going out the door.

“See you later,” Hisoka says, and then, he’s out of the door as well.

Azuma brings a hand up to cover his mouth and chuckles.

.

.

.

.

.

**\+ One.**

“Drop me here.”

Igawa stops the car and looks at him. “Here? It’s still quite far from my usual drop off point.”

Tenma shrugs, already fixing his bag and taking off his seatbelt. “Nah, it’s fine. I see Izumi and Juza-san over there. I’ll just head to the dorms with them.”

“Oh, okay. See you tomorrow.”

“Yeah. See you.”

Tenma puts his glasses on and steps out of the car. He closes the door and waits for Igawa to leave before he makes his way toward the two.

“Yo,” he greets.

They turn around, and Izumi smiles at him. “Tenma-kun!”

Juza nods, which Tenma returns as Izumi continues, “How was your shoot?”

“Fine. Glad it wrapped up earlier than normal,” Tenma says. He eyes the bags that Izumi is holding and brings a hand out. “I’ll take that.”

Izumi smiles, giving him the bags. “Thank you, Tenma-kun. We just have to get dough and flour, and then we can go back.”

Tenma follows her as they walk to another street, which has… a lot of people. There are more people here than normal. So many teenagers, too.

Tenma bites his lips and looks around. Nobody noticed him yet. Okay, that’s good. But that might not last long…

He walks closer to Juza. “Hey, Juza-san,” he says, keeping his voice down.

At Juza’s questioning (and terrifying, seriously) gaze, Tenma immediately says, “Do you maybe have a cap with you?”

Juza frowns. “No… I only brought myself when the director suddenly pulled me to go with her.”

“Okay.”

Tenma nods and pushes his glasses up, looking left and right as they continue their walk. He doesn’t notice that Izumi stopped walking until he bumps into her.

“Sorry,” Tenma says, but Izumi just frowns. Tenma frowns back at her. Is she mad? Sure, Tenma’s not paying attention to where he’s going, but hey, it’s for his safety.

“That’s not enough,” Izumi says and presses her lips together.

Uh, what? Did she mean his apology is not enough? Jeez, what’s with the director today?

“My phone’s back in the dorms… Juza-kun, did you bring your phone?”

Juza shakes his head, Izumi frowns, and Tenma stares at them back and forth. _What?_

“Wait here,” Izumi says. “Juza-kun, make sure you cover Tenma-kun. I’ll be fast.”

And with that, the director runs off to who-knows-where-maybe-the-dorms-but-why, leaving Tenma flabbergasted. What the hell just happened?

He repeats the question out loud, but Juza just shrugs. “Let’s go to that corner.”

“Huh? Why?”

Juza transfers all the bags he’s holding to his right hand and uses his left hand to grab Tenma’s wrist, walking toward a more secluded area.

“H-hey!”

His grip isn’t too firm, but it’s stable enough that Tenma doesn’t have any choice but to follow him unless he wants to be dragged.

Juza releases his hand when they’re in an empty, narrow street. He crosses his arms and leans on the wall, while Tenma just stands there, trying to make sense of everything happening.

The few seconds of silence stretch to minutes.

Ugh, awkward.

“Hey,” Juza says. Tenma didn’t jump three feet in the air because he was _not_ surprised. Nope. “About what happened last week.”

“Last week?”

“Hisoka-san and Misumi-san.”

Just the mention of those names and Tenma is already burying his face in his hand with a groan. “Please, let’s all forget that. It’s a traumatic experience.”

He doesn’t want to know how Misumi jumped from one roof to another like a bloody ninja, and he doesn’t want to know how Hisoka found those routes in the first place.

What he wants to know is how to remove that night from his memory. It’s so embarrassing to be carried like a sack of potatoes home.

“Why didn’t you call me?”

Tenma splays his fingers, looking at him through the space between his index and middle finger. “Huh?”

“I told you to call me if you need anything, right?” Juza furrows his brows. “I was serious when I said that.”

Tenma brings his hand down and—

“There you are!”

—turns around to see Izumi… with Banri and Omi. Huh?

“So you decided to hide here for the meantime,” Izumi says. “Staying on the streets was not the best idea. Good call, Juza-kun!” She throws a thumbs up in his direction.

“… Thanks.”

Banri shoves his hands in his pockets. “Well? What are we waiting for? C’mon. I still have a game to go back to.”

“I can’t find Sakyo-san,” Izumi is saying as she ignores Banri, “and Taichi-kun went out. Well, Taichi-kun might not be very effective anyway.”

“Effective?” Tenma asks. “For what? Can somebody explain?”

“Who knew that it will be useful for this?” Omi muses.

Izumi chuckles. “Yeah. I remembered when Autumn Troupe went out and…”

“Is everyone just gonna ignore me?!”

Banri rolls his eyes and moves behind him to lightly push him forward. “Now, now, start walking.”

“Where are we going?”

“The dorms?”

Tenma looks back at him as he removes his hands. “Izumi’s not finished with her shopping yet.”

“It’s okay, Tenma-kun!” Izumi says as she falls into step next to him. “They’re not important, and I can get them tomorrow instead.”

Juza silently takes his place on the other side of Tenma, and when their eyes meet, Juza simply shrugs. Tenma hasn’t answered him yet, and he _still_ doesn’t know how to answer that, so he averts his gaze and looks straight ahead.

“Guess I’ll be in front then,” Omi says.

When Omi moves to walk in front of them, Tenma is hit with a sense of familiarity and finally understands what’s going on.

“What the heck? What are you, my bodyguards?”

“Uh-huh! I’ll do my best!” Izumi says, rolling the sleeves of her shirt up as if to prove her point.

Tenma hears a laugh in front of him and the sound of swords clashing behind him.

“Next time,” Tenma hears from his right, “just call me.”

Tenma opens his mouth, only to close it again. Ugh. This won’t do. He steels himself so he can at least say, “Tha—”

“Oooooo, Ten-chan! Everyone! There you are!”

There’s a blur of red, and suddenly, instead of Izumi, Taichi is the one on Tenma’s left.

Tenma blinks.

“Sorry I’m late! Yosh, TARPS a.k.a. Ten-chan’s Always Ready Protection Squad, Incomplete Autumn Troupe version, here we go!”

“Oh. I… am touched. I appreciate it.”

Of course, Tenma didn’t say that. Just thinking of it gives him the creeps.

“Don’t need it,” is what he mumbles instead.

Tenma has thought that having to worry about the simple act of walking outside is annoying, but it’s just one of the prices to pay for his dreams. Sure, if he wasn’t the amazing actor that he is, then maybe he could take walks or play in the park or something.

But Tenma doesn’t want to keep being dragged down—not by the past, not by his weakness, not by _anyone_ , including himself. There is no use thinking about the other choices he didn’t take, no time to whine; he simply has to focus on achieving his goals.

Besides, if he isn’t an amazing actor, then he would have not been cast in movies. He would’ve not watched a random theatre play just to pass time in between his shoots.

He wouldn’t be in Mankai.

If the media can hear his thoughts… Tenma can almost imagine one of the ridiculous headlines: “Superstar Tenma Sumeragi, not worrying about his walk home anymore.”

And it won’t be because he’s not an actor but because there are people that are part of his… _protection squad_. And there are different versions? Is there a Summer Troupe version?

“Eh? Ten-chan? Why are you grinning like that?”

Tenma crosses his arms and huffs. “I’m not!”

TARPS, huh? He inwardly snorts. Who the hell even thought of this? He has to admit though… it has a pretty nice ring to it.

**Author's Note:**

> Anyone else wanna join TARPS? (EDIT: OH MY GOD HANA MADE A WONDERFUL [ART](https://twitter.com/hana_kyabetsu/status/1277198485213724672?s=19) OF THAT LAST SCENE PLEASE VIEW IT I'M CRYING IT'S SO SOFT)
> 
> 21 characters in one fic again _laugh-cry intensifies_ but at least they’re not ALL in ONE scene… *war flashbacks* Also struggled with characterization and direction (or the lack thereof) in this one, but, eh. 😬😬 (EDIT: I just realized… A Tenma fic… without direction… I See.)
> 
> I liked how Juza and Taichi barged in the last scene like that though. Ah, when the characters do things you’re not expecting them to do…
> 
> twt: [@rinkaisha_](https://twitter.com/rinkaisha_) ก็็็็็็็็็็็็็ʕ•͡ᴥ•ʔ ก้้้้้้้้้้้


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